


Same Old Story

by Charity_Angel



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Stargate SG-1
Genre: A Star to Steer By verse, Don't copy to another site, F/M, Fives and Anakin are a disaster pairing, Jack is the most intelligent of the lot of them, Jack sees all, Multi, Other, Star Fever, ace!Anakin, aro!Fives, he just hides it well, triadic marriage, who thought they were a good idea?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-09-28 20:41:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20432120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charity_Angel/pseuds/Charity_Angel
Summary: SG-1 arrive on Coruscant only to find that it's not all that different from home, family dramas included.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A Star to Steer By](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3514793) by [dogmatix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dogmatix/pseuds/dogmatix), [norcumi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/norcumi/pseuds/norcumi). 

> I swear I absolutely did start writing this for Star Fever week, which was basically forever ago. Now that the lovely Norcumi and Dogmatix have finished off part 1 of AStSB, I thought I should post this before it becomes AU.

Fives sometimes rolled his eyes at how ridiculous Anakin was over Padmé. But there were benefits to the relationship too – Padmé was a human woman and had a sex drive, and Anakin was… ill-equipped on his own to deal with that.

They never risked anything much while Fives was hosting because, even with the best of intentions, accidents did happen. Implants could fail; condoms could split, and kids with a Jedi parent were... weird.

But Fives and Padmé had wonderful sexual chemistry, and she had Anakin for all the romantic crap that Fives had absolutely no interest in whatsoever. Padmé was even a kind of parent to Anakin's kids – she adored the two little ones, and regularly entertained them and their friends in her Jedi-friendly fountain. (The fact that Anakin loved playing in the fountain too was just a bonus.)

It worked for them.

Right up until the day they realised that Padmé’s implant _had_ failed. Which wouldn't have been nearly so difficult if Padmé hadn't discovered it while Anakin and Fives were off rescuing Obi-Wan, Rex, and the 212th from wherever they had ended up (Earth. Nice planet, bit primitive).

They returned from the deepest, darkest depths of wild space to find Padmé changed: her face was rounder when she smiled at them, her breasts fuller and, when she stood, the swell of her belly was obvious to them, no matter how hard she was trying to hide it in the artful draping of her ceremonial gown. They both knew how Padmé’s homeworld felt about family – that it was sacred, and that parents were expected to give up work to raise their children. It was why their politicians in particular were so very young – a career was something that the Naboo had _before_ their families. They then retired to care for their children.

Fives just stared at her in shock. This was not something he had prepared for; probably something she had not prepared for either. Padmé’s work was too important – she couldn’t just give it up, as Naboo would demand of her.

Anakin took over smoothly, and surprisingly diplomatically. "Senator Amidala, you are a sight for weary eyes.”

"I must agree," General Kenobi added, saving Anakin from saying anything less diplomatic, more himself. “You are positively glowing. I take it that you have not been kept too busy in our absence?"

To her credit, Padmé only did the slightest of double-takes at seeing Rex rather than 17, and her smile quirked into something teasing: "Indeed not, Master Jedi. Without its most famous troublemakers, the Republic has been quiet these last few weeks.”

Kenobi barely even twitched but his eyes twinkled as he acknowledged that. "In that case, I do apologise for our return. I for one have no desire to make your life more difficult."

Off to the side, 99 snickered openly. Or possibly it was Master Yoda. It was sometimes hard to tell with those two.

(Fives wished for Ahsoka’s presence, because she would know how to break the cycle of idiocy. Probably by hugging Padmé.)

“Report to the Council we must," Yoda said, saving everyone from themselves. "Then a summary we shall present to the Senate.”

Padmé inclined her head towards the elder Jedi. "Of course, Master Yoda. I am curious about this latest adventure, but procedure must be observed. I can be patient."

.oOo.

  
It was a long, long day. The Council demanded to know every single little detail of how a mission to rescue an ARC trooper had wound up with a dead host, a multi-planetary trip without a ship, and landed them with some new allies and some old enemies. They wanted to meet SG-1, only then to be utterly baffled by Jack’s sense of humour (which forced Fives and Anakin to fight as to which of them _wasn’t_ in control and therefore trying not to laugh). And they spent far, far too long discussing minutiae that held no interest whatsoever for either Fives or Anakin. They hadn’t even been there for most of it; only the politicky bit at the end – something neither Anakin nor Fives were suited to.

_#What are we going to do?#_ Fives asked, when his nagging worries finally overrode the military training that insisted he listen attentively.

He got the mental impression of a shrug. _#Why do we need do anything?#_

There were occasions where Fives wanted to wring his Jedi’s scrawny neck. _#Because none of us are in a position to raise a kid?#_ He bit back a sigh that would draw attention to their internal discourse.

_#It's different for you – Jedi are normally raised in the crèche. Human kids aren’t. Definitely not on Naboo, anyway. #_

_# But we're not on Naboo,#_ Anakin pointed out, which wouldn’t be an unreasonable observation if not for the fact they were discussing Naboo’s senator. Her apartments and office were technically sovereign Naboo territory.

_#Padmé would be expected to go home and raise the kid. Preferably with a spouse. And what would happen to her work here?#_

There was another shrug._ #Bail could take over, and Riyo.#_

Fives resisted the urge to swear, and/or bash his head against the nearest solid surface. _#But they need more voices, not fewer. And Senator Organa is already over-stretched, and Senator Chuchi is young and relatively inexperienced – she doesn't have the same respect that Padmé does._

_#And we can't just take off to care for a kid, can we? Think about it – what would happen to us? You’d get yanked back to the Temple without me.#_

Anakin went quiet as the full impact of their predicament hit home.

.oOo.

As it turned out, Padmé had a plan. It wasn’t a great plan, as plans went – honestly, some of Anakin’s battle plans were better – and definitely involved the risk of discovery, but there was a plan.

“Moteé has said she will claim the child as hers,” Padmé said. “There will still be a fight to keep them here, but it will be easier than trying to argue for my own baby.”

Anakin sighed "You know that won’t work. You tried it already for Teckla's kids."

"But they were born on Naboo,” Padmé reasoned. "It will be easier for a baby born on Coruscant, to a non-Naboo father."

_#Is that true?#_ Fives asked Anakin. _#Because I don't want to not know my kid because he or she is stuck on Naboo.#_

_#I have no idea,# _Anakin admitted._ #Padmé knows more about their politics and culture than I ever will. We have to trust her. #_

.oOo.

It was Jack who presented an alternative solution, in a fashion, after eyeballing the pregnant senator and her fake-pregnant handmaiden in Naboo’s senate pod.

"What's going on there?” he asked, thankfully subtly. (Fives scanned their pod controls to make sure there was nothing recording or, worse, broadcasting.) “Some weird cultural thing? Or is she trying to hide a harsesis?"

Anakin came up blank on the word – it wasn't Basic or English, as far as he could tell.

Jack rolled his eyes as he realised that the word hadn't translated. "You guys must know that kids from Jedi parents are a bit on the freaky side. Or is that just a Goa’uld thing?"

Anakin and Fives were both surprised that Jack knew that. Just what were these new Sith _up_ to?

"It's just not a Goa’uld thing," Anakin admitted tersely. "It's a phenomenon we know of, but no, that's not it. Padmé’s people have some rigid cultural expectations when it comes to parenting.”

"And her being a senator doesn't fit with that," Jack said. “Gotcha. Sorry for assuming; it's just... the way you look at her..."

Fives felt his ears flush with Anakin’s embarrassment, while he bit back a snicker.

Jack was eyeing them even more curiously now, and the rest of SG-1 were getting interested in what was being discussed.

Fives took over. “Look, keep it quiet: Jedi and senators aren’t supposed to get involved. Jedi aren’t really supposed to get involved with anyone, and it looks like you know why, but Anakin’s a romantic idiot."

Jack nodded, although his brow was furrowed in thought. It didn’t take long for his eyes to go wide. "Oh! Yours, not Skywalker’s.”

Of _course_ he figured out. Jack was nowhere near the simpleton he made himself out to be.

"And if you claim the kid, you’d get split from Skywalker?"

Fives gave a short, sharp nod.

“That sucks. Can't you get some of your brothers to help out? I'm pretty sure even your science couldn’t say which of you is the father. Bet there's plenty out there would jump at the chance to raise a kid. I've seen the way some of them look at kids in the street – like they’d love to have one of their own but they don't think it's possible."

That sent the pair of them into an immediate brood.

_#He’s right, isn’t he?#_ Fives asked.

_#Which part? He’s definitely right that there’s no way anyone could prove that the baby’s yours, since you haven’t got any glaring anomalies they could test for.#_

_#And he’s right about the fact that there’s some of my brothers who adore kids. It’s whether they’d agree to resign from the military just to help us out…#_

They were both quiet for a while, letting the inane noise of the senate wash over them, letting Obi-Wan deal with the Earthers. That was better anyway, because Obi-Wan had a much better grasp of English than Anakin did, having gotten it directly from the source rather than a horrible language transfer.

.oOo.

They headed out to Padmé's apartment as soon as they could get themselves free. Padmé wouldn't be back for a while, knowing her tendency to work after a session; particularly one as interesting as that would have been for… pretty much anyone else. It meant that the place was fairly private, and they needed somewhere quiet to <strike>brood</strike> discuss their options before they presented the idea to their wife. _If_ they told her, because it was a big thing that were contemplating and there was no point in stressing her if they didn't need to.

They had reckoned without C-3PO, who clocked them within seconds of entering the suite.

“Master Anakin, how good it is to see you,” the droid twittered.

_#Remind me why you built that damn thing?#_

Anakin shrugged. _#I was bored. Working on him gave us something to do. And he was a good companion when I was young, and he helped out a lot round the house.#_

“Mistress Padmé is still out,” 3PO continued. “Has the session finished?”

“Yes, 3PO”, Anakin said. “We thought we would meet her here when she gets home.”

“I don't think she'll be long,” Fives added quickly. “I'm sure she will want something to eat and drink when she returns home.”

The droid looked affronted at the mere suggestion that he might be neglecting his mistress. “There are always refreshments available for whenever Mistress Padmé is home. Particularly now that she is so run down. We are all doing our best to make sure that she does not malfunction again.”

“_Malfunction_?!”

Fives wasn't sure which of them actually blurted the word out. A 'malfunction’? That didn't sound good at all.

“Mistress Padmé works too hard, and does not recharge for the prescribed period,” 3PO said prissily. “Her digestive system began to malfunction as a result. We all strive to make her life here as easy as possible so that she does not have to stress her circuits over us.”

_#Morning sickness.#_ Fives translated as the realisation struck him. _#But he's right - she does work too hard.#_

“I’m sure you are doing your best to look after Padmé,” Anakin said smoothly. “And I’m glad she has someone to look after her when we can’t be here.”

“I wouldn’t mind a snack, though,” Fives added, trying to sound thoughtful. “It’s been ages since I last ate.”

“Oh!” The droid’s body language changed instantly, which was quite an impressive feat. How something with a fixed facial expression could appear to be offended, or attentive, was beyond Fives, but C-3PO managed it.

(Come to think of it, R2 was far too good at that too, and he had absolutely _no_ relatable body language whatsoever.)

“I will fetch something right away, Master Fives. How unforgivably rude of me not to offer.”

Fives suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. “A mug of caf and a sandwich, and we’ll call it even.”

C-3PO tottered off, and Fives sighed. _#I thought he’d never leave.#_

_#He’ll be back,# Anakin pointed out. #You sent him on an errand to the kitchen, not the other side of the galaxy.#_

_#But he’ll be back with food,#_ Fives pointed out. _#And then we can send him away. What do you think about Jack’s plan? Really?#_

There was a feeling that Fives associated with a sigh. _#It is a good idea, if we can work out the logistics. I can’t see Padmé wanting someone to raise the baby away from here, but the sham with Moteé isn’t going to work.#_

Fives snorted. _#You’re telling me. But I think that if we could somehow arrange a position here – real or otherwise – for a _vod_, they would be allowed to keep a child because we’re not native Naboo. No matter how many of us have settled there.#_

There was a hesitation in Anakin’s thoughts: a kind of mental hum. _#Not a bad idea. But who do you think would go for it?#_

_#Please. You really think Jesse wouldn’t fall over himself to do it?#_

There was a definite sigh from Anakin there. _#But do we want to lose him and Kix? Because Kix would definitely leave with him.#_

Fives nodded. _#I know. But think how offended they would be if we _didn’t_ ask them.#_

There was some hesitation, then the distinct feeling of amused agreement. _#Jesse wouldn’t speak to us for at least ten minutes.#_

_#Kix would have my balls for upsetting Jesse,#_ Fives pointed out. _#It might not bother you that much, but Padmé and I are quite fond of them, thanks.#_

Anakin snickered in his head. _#Your balls are exactly the reason we’re having this conversation in the first place.#_

Fives laughed out loud at that remark, coinciding with the exact moment that they were joined, not by C-3PO, but by Padmé. Her exhausted expression lifted a little at the sound.

“You two sound like you’re enjoying yourselves,” she said as she settled down beside them. Fives lifted his arm so that she could tuck herself into his side snugly.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said sleepily. “Didn’t like it when you were gone for so long.”

“I’m sorry we weren’t here for you,” Anakin said, stroking their fingers through her hair. “Especially this time.”

“Mmm. Here.” Padmé grabbed their hand and pressed it to her belly. “You feel that?”

Fives wasn’t altogether sure what to expect. He had heard that kids grown _in utero_ kicked, much in the same way that Anakin had been able to feel Luke and Leia move while he was pregnant, but it wasn’t something he was familiar with. At first, there was nothing, but then… the tiniest fluttering under his fingers. Barely perceptible. Fives might have thought he imagined it, if not for Padmé’s smile and the thrill from Anakin.

“That… that’s our baby?”

Padmé nodded.

“Baby? Oh my.”

Because of course C-3PO had walked back in at that moment.

Instantly, Padmé was alert, sitting up. “3PO, I… You can’t tell anyone. It’s a secret.”

”Of course, Mistress Padmé,” the droid said, although he sounded uncertain. “Goodness me, I have… this food is all wrong. You have specialist requirements to keep you and the foetus healthy. Forgive me.”

And away he tottered once more, taking away both of the plates he carried. Fives watched him go mournfully.

“Dammit. I’d have eaten them both.”

“So would I,” Padmé said. “Most of the guidelines are worst-case scenarios – I don’t think a bit of soft cheese has caused any pre-natal issues in centuries. What were you laughing about when I came in?”

Fives grinned. “I think Anakin was suggesting we might have been better off if Kix had carried out one of his various threats of castration.”

Padmé tried valiantly to frown. “As much as now isn’t the right time for a baby, I can’t say I agree.”

“That’s what I said.”

Anakin nudged for control and Fives ceded it willingly.

“That’s not quite what I said,” Anakin said, although he was grinning broadly. “Fives is wildly reading between the lines. But there’s some context that’s quite important. We could do with talking to you about it, if you’re feeling up to it?”

Padmé nodded. “If you’d asked me two minutes ago, I’d have said no, but 3PO seems to have woken me right up.”

.oOo.

They outlined their revised plan, swapping back and forth between them (and interrupted by 3PO, with what he deemed to be a suitable repast for Padmé). Padmé was alarmed at first that a complete stranger had managed to rumble her secret so easily but, once she calmed, she seemed to take it well.

“Feigning a surrogacy could work,” she said eventually. “And there shouldn’t be any issues with employing any non-Naboo – particularly _vod’e_ – if that’s what they want. But would they? Would they really want to give up being with their brothers all the time, to come and be glorified babysitters for us?”

“I think that if we sold it the right way, they would,” Fives said. “Jesse will be easy, because he’d love it, but he’d worry that Kix was only doing it for him.”

“But if I manage to get Kix a job here, it would give him something fulfilling to do, and it would look like Jesse was following him, rather than the other way around,” Padmé suggested. “Plus, if we really are going to explain this pregnancy away as a surrogacy, it wouldn’t look too strange that they suddenly want to leave the army to care for their child. But shouldn’t we ask them before we plan any further?”

.oOo.

They had called it exactly right – Jesse was thrilled and honoured to be asked, but he looked to Kix before giving any kind of answer.

“We all know this is a big thing to ask of you,” Padmé said softly to him. “Of course, I would expect that you would at least want to carry on practicing medicine. I thought that perhaps a free clinic here on Coruscant, for those on the lower levels who don’t have the same access to healthcare as we are privileged to have up here, might be something you would be interested in.”

Kix nodded thoughtfully. Fives and Anakin knew how much he disliked the conditions in Coruscant’s lower levels, where people could live their whole lives without ever seeing so much as a single ray of natural light. Where the general populace lived in squalor while the ruling class of the entire Republic basked in the sunlight over their heads. The good health enjoyed by the senators and ambassadors was not guaranteed for all of the citizens of the city planet.

The idea for this had been entirely Padmé’s, and they both knew that she would find someone to run this clinic now that she had thought of it. The question was: would that person be Kix?

He seemed uncertain, nervous even.

“Can we have some time to talk it over?”

Padmé had suggested that might be Kix’s initial response, since he was a sensible adult and didn’t jump into anything that wasn’t a medical emergency feet first. But Fives couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that things weren’t getting resolved right away. That was probably because he was a little less of a sensible adult than Kix – all the more reason that Kix should be involved in raising the kid, really.

“You can have all the time you need,” Padmé responded with a gentle smile. “And please don’t feel pressured because that idiot over there is your general. He won’t hold it against you if you say no, will you, Anakin?”

Fives’ head shook. “Definitely not. Like Padmé said, we know it’s a lot to ask.”

“Yeah, what they said,” Fives added. “But I reckon the kid needs at least one sane person involved in raising them.”

Jesse laughed and nudged Kix. Kix probably would have laughed if he hadn’t been so deep in thought. Padmé looked utterly offended. Which, all in all, was possibly the best way to leave things for the time being.

.oOo.

It took a couple of days for Kix to ask for another meeting, then another day before they could all get away and meet up.

“We’ll do it,” Kix said once they were all sat down. “Although why you’d trust my idiot with a kid is beyond me. But, we have a couple of questions we’d like to get into the open sooner rather than later.”

That wasn’t entirely unexpected. Even Anakin, rubbish as he was with some human things, had realised that this arrangement wouldn’t be entirely straightforward.

“What happens when you retire, Senator? Would you expect us to move wherever you go? Or…”

It was like Kix couldn’t bring himself to say something. It wasn’t like him.

“I haven’t given a vast amount of thought to retirement, given how much there is to do to get the Republic functioning as it should,” Padmé said. “But if I do, we would talk it through as a family – all five of us – but we would probably remain here on Coruscant. Kix, I hope that your practice would be successful enough that you would want to stay here, and Fives and Anakin will clearly still have their duties. This baby is going to have five parents, and I wouldn’t want to cut any of them out if I do ever retire, or otherwise lose my seat on the senate.”

Kix and Jesse both looked vastly reassured by that, but there was still something else. There was another question, and they wouldn’t relax fully until that was answered.

“What’s the other thing?”

Kix and Jesse exchanged a meaningful glance, and Jesse grabbed Kix’s hand before speaking.

“This one is something that we’ll have to talk about again, when the time is right, and the answer isn’t going to change our minds but… Would you consider _actually_ doing this for us one day?”

Jesse was usually a lot more plain-speaking than that. Fives thought it might well be the first time he had actually been confused by something his brother had said (when it hadn’t been done on purpose, that was).

“What Jesse means is that we had given some thought to surrogacy even before you came to us,” Kix explained. “I’m not sure we would ever have dared ask you, Senator, except that you’re family and you already seem to be tolerating a clone pregnancy well enough. Not every woman does, you know.”

That was true enough. Fives had almost forgotten that particular lesson about how they differed from a standard human, and there had been nothing about Padmé’s pregnancy that he had seen that had made him think about it. Women who couldn’t handle the physical strain of carrying the child of a clone usually found out early on in the gestation. They never usually got far enough along to show.

(The roll of the genetic dice sometimes meant that a kid got fewer of their enhanced genes than usual, making the pregnancy easier; or it might mean that they got too much and even the stronger women struggled. But there was nothing that suggested that Padmé couldn’t handle this one, or another.)

Padmé looked over to Fives and Anakin, probably trying to get a feel for their reaction before she responded. Fives didn’t feel she was going to get what she was looking for, because he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. The rational part of his brain thought that it was a good idea, since they probably wouldn’t be adding any more kids to their family any time soon, given the logistical nightmare this one was causing, and not only would it be a nice thing to do for Kix and Jesse, but their kid would have a cousin to grow up with. But there was something deep in his psyche that didn’t like the idea of Padmé growing another man’s child. Patently ridiculous, but it was there.

And Anakin was no damn help whatsoever, because his perspective was skewed by an asexual reproductive system. His brain just wasn’t wired in a way that would understand why Fives was having that kind of reaction at all.

“I would be absolutely honoured,” Padmé was saying, “but, as you say, it’s something probably best saved for when the time is right for you. Fives and Anakin will have to put up with me being hormonal all over again, so it’s not something I’ll agree to without them.”

Kix and Jesse both nodded. It looked like that was the answer they were expecting.

.oOo.

And, quietly, the deal was done. Padmé bought two buildings – a ‘respectable’ place in the Senate District that would serve as the “main” money-making practice for Kix, where he could house complex medical equipment, and an office on Level 1414 that Kix would use to assess the main bulk of his patients and, hopefully, treat the majority. Some would need to be brought up, but they hoped that hopefully some of the senators and/or their aides might see those more unfortunate than themselves and feel obliged to help rather than just turn a blind eye. It was harder to ignore people staring you in the face than it was an abstract idea.

Kix and Jesse put in their resignations from the army, which was a lot less quiet than they would have preferred. The 501st didn’t sulk, because they were grown-ass men and that was childish, but there was a lot of confusion at first. But then Padmé stopped hiding behind her dresses, and she released a statement to the press that she was a surrogate for her new business partner and his husband, and that Kix was retiring from the GAR in order to help her set up a clinic in the undercity. That soon put a stop to the 501st’s initial reactions, but Fives was absolutely certain that someone, somewhere, was setting up a book as to whether that kid was really Jesse’s. Or Kix’s, but they knew their _vod’e_ well, and Jesse would have much shorter odds than Kix. Fives was well aware that there would be odds on him too, since Anakin was a little too obvious on occasion. He suspected that most of the men knew that they would never know for sure, because of the very reason they were going to get away with this in the first place, but they were clearly hopeful.

Jack, to his credit, wasn’t at all smug about the fact that they had used his idea. He was genuinely pleased that they had found a solution that worked.

“It was Jesse I was thinking about when I suggested it,” he admitted at the retirement party, nursing a beer. “He’ll be a great fake parent. And Kix too. Just, make sure they keep any firearms well out of reach, yeah? I mean, take what you think is the kid’s reach and triple it kind of ‘out of reach’.”

There was something in Jack’s eyes – something dark and haunted, something unguarded that was usually hidden behind that veneer of humour – that made Fives nod. “We will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this seems like an abrupt ending. It's because I seriously haven't finished. I kind of know where I'm going with this (I mean, the groundwork is all right here), but then SG-1 went off on a massive tangent* and things got political and I got scared and stopped writing it.
> 
> I would very much like to start again.
> 
> * they stuck their noses somewhere the Jedi Council would have preferred they didn't. I know, you're all shocked. /s


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kix's new clinic opens and the rest of SG-1 put in an appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this goes up to the end of where I was up to. Politics ahoy. I may or may not by now have another 1k words after this...

Being the explorers they were, SG-1 were intrigued at Kix’s very public new position. All they had seen of Coruscant was the Temple, the Senate dome, and the beautiful, pearlescent buildings between. With their respective backgrounds, Fives and Anakin thought that letting them see the underbelly wasn’t a bad thing. Padmé disagreed.

“It doesn’t show us in a good light,” she hissed. “We don’t bother to take care of the majority of our population.”

Anakin shrugged. “They’re not from a rich world,” he countered. “From what we could pick up, they have similar issues between the rich and poor, and a lot of the same causes – politicians who don’t care. Maybe it would be a good thing to show them that we’re more like them than they think?”

Wow. That… _#That was actually a good argument.#_

_#Thanks,#_ came Anakin’s mildly panicked response.

“They’ve probably guessed already,” the Jedi added. “They’re kinda smart, and Jack listens more than you think he does. And you did make it public that you wanted to help those less fortunate who are right here on Coruscant.”

“That’s true.” Was Padmé actually relenting?

“Plus a lot of the people down there are non-human, and that’d be a good thing for the Tau'ri to see,” Fives added. “They’re not used to non-humans, and up here there’s an over-abundance of us. And I'd rather SG-1 than SG-3.”

Padmé sighed. “Okay, fine.”

_#Wait, we won?#_

_#Looks that way.#_

.oOo.

Carter looked absolutely horrified by what they found. To be fair, Jackson didn’t seem much better.

“How did this happen?” she demanded in English, with 3PO translating into Basic for Padmé (which Fives and Anakin had to admit was a great help). “How can there be so much money up there, and nothing here?”

“Same way our society is, Carter,” Jack said, his dark eyes taking everything in carefully. It was the same kind of look Rex used, and all the other ARCs – categorising potential threats almost sub-consciously. “We’ve got people like Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch, with more money than sense, and we’ve got vets starving on the streets because no-one in government bothers to make sure they have the skills or mental health to survive outside the military. Kids in ghettos with no way out because they can’t afford the education, or the health care, to get themselves out.” He switched to Basic and addressed Padmé directly. “At least there are politicians here who care, Madame Senator. Are there enough of you to make a difference?”

Padmé looked around and the crowded waiting room, crammed with children and anxious mothers, with elders, with Rodians with scale rot, Twi’leks with scars from whippings, a Togruta boy with a broken-off montral. The scale was more monumental than they had anticipated for the first week. From the glance they had gotten of Kix’s harassed face, Fives suspected he hadn’t planned for so much work so early either.

“I have friends in the Senate,” she admitted quietly. “We are a minority, but we are a persistent and loud minority. Hopefully we can change things. This cannot continue.”

Jack nodded. “We got people like you back home too,” he said. “You make sure you take care of yourself, because there’s obviously a lot of people could use a good politician like you. Keep that voice of yours nice and loud and strong.”

Padmé regarded him carefully before nodding. “I intend to, Colonel. There is a lot of work to do here to help all of the Republic’s citizens, and I intend to see as much of it done as possible.”

“With great power comes great responsibility.”

Jack’s tone made it look like he was quoting something. Daniel’s eyes went wide as he blurted something in English they couldn’t catch. Jack just looked smug.

“My apologies, lady,” Jackson said, looking mortified. “Jack likes to much refer our culture.”

“It’s a very true statement,” Padmé said to them both. “There is no apology necessary.”

“Okay, now, what can we do to pitch in?” Jack asked. “We might not be able to help much with the aliens, but we’ve all got some medical training.”

The harried receptionist set them up in some side rooms, and a data pad each. Fives showed SG-1 how to use the pad to record patient details, as well as go through the details of the species norms. Jesse ran through the basics of triaging, and what they would and wouldn’t need to refer to Kix, then left them to it (with Carter and Teal’c together, with C-3PO to translate).

Fives spent the rest of the day watching Anakin helping people, doing what a Jedi should be doing and seeing to those in need. Anakin referred a lot fewer people to Kix than the others, simply because he healed them up himself.

_#We should speak to the Council about this,#_ Anakin said as they took a few minutes to deal with the demands of their body. _#Get a rota set up for someone to help out here.#_

Fives couldn’t agree more. There were Jedi who weren’t suited to being part of the military for one reason or another, but there was little stopping them from helping in other respects. This hadn’t taken any healer’s training beyond what padawans routinely learned: just the desire to be there and do something for these forsaken people.

_#Kix also needs more people to operate this place,#_ Fives added. _#If it’s like this already, think what will happen once word really gets around?#_

_#Agreed. But who? Ryll would probably love it, but can we afford to lose him at the moment?#_

Fives shrugged. _#I’m sure there’s plenty more medics on ice.#_

_#To throw at Kix, or to replace Ryll?#_

_#Either? Both, if Ryll decides this is what he wants to do. I’m not going to stop him – are you?#_

Anakin ‘sighed’. _#Even if I was allowed to, no I wouldn’t. I just don’t think it would do the men’s morale any good to lose both medics so close together.#_

_#Anakin, if we let the men see this, we’ll lose most of the battalion.#_

Anakin snickered. _#That would solve the staffing issue. If we didn’t need them so badly right now, maybe I’d bring them down here. But we’ve got a new enemy to add to the problems we’re already facing.#_

_#I know. But we’re not slaves – if the men want to volunteer while we’re on down-time, we can’t exactly stop them.#_

Anakin felt amused. _#No, we can’t, can we?#_

.oOo.

Fives was feeling quite pleased when the Council were an awful lot faster in noticing that vast swathes the 501st and 212th were disappearing off to the lower levels on a regular basis than they were about tabling the discussion for a regular Jedi presence at Kix’s new clinic.

“I’m sorry, Master Windu, but what the men do on their own time is up to them,” Anakin said, almost as smoothly as Kenobi, smooth talker extraordinaire, would have done. In Kenobi’s chair, one or the other of him and Rex was trying to fight back a grin. Honestly, with this situation, it was quite possibly both of them.

“Host Fives, what do you have to say about this situation?”

Fives tried to look innocent as Anakin ceded control. “As General Skywalker says, sir; what my brothers get up to on down time isn’t something they have to run by us.”

“If you had to guess?” Windu asked, his voice low and slightly menacing.

“That would be sheer speculation, sir,” Fives answered crisply, keeping his eyes just above Juno’s shoulder in an attempt not to meet those accusing blue eyes. He figured that was fairly safe, rather than anywhere else on Juno’s rather well-sculpted anatomy. “But, if I was forced to speculate, I’d assume that they went to visit Kix, saw the conditions down there for themselves, and wanted to help. Same as I did.”

That was true, within reason. Fives might have strongly encouraged some of his brothers to visit at first, just to get the ball rolling, but it hadn’t taken any more than the right amount of pressure on the right _vod’e_ .

General Plo was smiling, just a little bit. It was still weird, seeing that gentle expression on Wolffe’s face; especially now that Wolffe looked even more of a scary bastard with the cybernetic eye and badass scar. Fives was fairly sure he wasn’t buying that Fives was completely innocent in all this, but he also clearly didn’t give a monkey-lizard’s backside.

“If I might, sirs,” Fives added, deciding that since they had their audience, if not in the way they had originally wanted it, they might as well make a go of it, “the boys are doing good work down there. They’re helping the residents by improving the standards of living and healthcare. If we can help all of the citizens of the Republic to live healthy and productive lives, starting here, then some of the issues we’re experiencing out there might stop.”

_#Wait, that’s not what we agreed to say!#_ Anakin spluttered. _#Padmé said to be more diplomatic.#_

Fives tried hard to scrounge up some embarrassment, for the sake of his Jedi and their wife. He wasn’t altogether sorry that he failed.

“What is that assumption based on?” Master Rancisis asked, seemingly taken aback.

Fives shrugged. “I know this all blew up before I came out of freeze, and I only have a vague grasp of politics, but it seems to me that most of the issues the Seppies have is that the Republic just isn’t serving their needs; that the Senate aren’t effective and don’t care about the general population of the galaxy. And, from what I can make out, they’re not entirely wrong. I mean, have you _looked_ at the lower levels recently? There are kids starving down there, but the AgriCorps farms more than enough. So where’s it all going? And basic medical care is shocking too. Even something as simple as artificial sunlight is a luxury they don’t seem to have access to.”

_#You’re going to get us separated!#_ Anakin hissed.

“Those are some valid points,” General Plo said, and Fives had to catch himself from sagging in relief. “And, Fives, your grasp of the politics is not as shoddy as you make out. I recall Qui-Gon and Tahl saying that was Dooku’s biggest complaint – that no-one seemed to care any more for the people who need help the most.”

“It was just about the only thing that they and Dooku agreed upon,” Kenobi said quietly.

“But we cannot interfere with politics,” General Tiin objected.

“We are not,” General Fisto said, the blue of his eyes odd against his Nautolan host. “The men are doing this off their own back and, whether or not we command the army, they are technically not part of the Order unless they become a host. If the men want to volunteer their spare time towards such a worthy cause, who are we to stop them?”

“We cannot,” General Plo said. “The _vod’e_ are not our slaves; we cannot control the entirety of their lives, only their service in the army. The question of whether or not Jedi become involved is a separate discussion that we will need to have at another time; now is not the time.”

Windu gave him a dark glare before turning his attention back to Fives and Anakin. “Very well; the men may continue to assist on the lower levels providing it does not impact their usual duty shifts. However, as Jedi, the two of you may not attend again without the Council’s permission. The political fallout could be too great.”

Fives never failed to be impressed by Anakin’s command of some of the galaxy’s most crass languages. He was swearing up a storm to Fives even as he nudged to take control and bowed his head obediently. “Of course, Master. We shall await your verdict.”

“Oh, and Skywalker?” Windu called after them as they were leaving. Anakin turned back slightly. “That goes for the visitors from Earth too. We can’t risk them getting caught up in a political argument.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Props to [Jedi_Master_Misty_SmanEsay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jedi_Master_Misty_SmanEsay/pseuds/Jedi_Master_Misty_SmanEsay) for Mace Windu's host, Juno, who is borrowed with kind permission.


End file.
